The 2026 budget of the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention will include funding from the newly established, Winningham Fund, a generous gift from the estate of Otha and Louise Winningham.
“The Winningham Fund will operate similarly to the existing Burress-Littleford
Fund that helps to fund first church property and building purchases for new
churches in our convention,” said Leo Endel, retiring MWBC executive director. “Each fall, the MWBC will adjust the corpus of the fund to offset
inflation. Then the remaining earnings will be budgeted into the next year’s MWBC budget to help fund the executive director’s position. In this way, the fund will provide resources to the convention in perpetuity.”
Otha Winningham served M-W Baptists from 1975 until his retirement in 1993.
He led the convention through its early days of expansion and transition through establishing the work as a fellowship and then to full convention status. It was his knowledge and experience that defined and laid the
foundation for the work.
Otha’s wife, Louise, also served the convention as the editor of the
M-W Baptist, the convention’s monthly news journal.
The Endels plan to follow the Winningham’s example and have written into their will additional funding to be added upon their deaths. You can visit mwbc.org/freewill to do the same or you can give directly to the fund by contacting the new executive director, Trey Turner, by email at turner@mwbc.org or by calling the convention office, (507) 282-3636.
“Each dollar given will help extend the work of the convention until Jesus comes again,” Endel said.